Category: Worldwide Church of God

Consortium to buy Ambassador upper campus PASADENA — The Worldwide Church of God is selling the last piece of its former Ambassador College campus to the same consortium that bought the Ambassador Auditorium and surrounding administrative buildings last May, church officials confirmed Friday. An internal memo sent to Worldwide Church of God employees on Thursday says the 17-acre upper campus went into escrow this week with a group that includes Maranatha High School, Harvest Rock Church and Sunrise Senior Living. “The buyer’s ultimate plans are not yet finalized and the Church will probably remain in use of some upper campus

Officials moving headquarters to Glendora PASADENA — The Worldwide Church of God will soon leave the former Ambassador College campus, its home base for more than 50 years, for the smaller, less expensive trappings of an industrial building in Glendora. Bernard Schnippert, chief financial officer for the church, confirmed the Worldwide Church of God is in escrow to buy a 50,000-square-foot office building at 2011 E. Financial Way. The property is being sold by an industrial engineering firm, Caltrol Inc., which plans to relocate its headquarters to Nevada. “Emotionally, we enjoyed our time on the Pasadena campus, but it is

Harvest Rock Church and Maranatha High School buy that and other buildings on the 13-acre site in Pasadena. The Ambassador Auditorium and other key structures on the former Ambassador College campus in Pasadena have been purchased by a church and school, which plan to turn the vacant facilities into a private high school and concert venue. Harvest Rock Church and Maranatha High School, both based in Pasadena, bought the 13-acre site with five buildings from Worldwide Church of God last week for an undisclosed amount. The property is bounded by St. John Avenue, Green Street and Del Mar Avenue. To

Auditorium preserved Harvest Rock, Maranatha pool funds, buy portion of Ambassador campus PASADENA — The Worldwide Church of God announced Friday it has sold a large portion of the remaining Ambassador campus to a consortium of local religious institutions, ending a controversial plan to build houses on the site. The highly anticipated deal will preserve the world-renowned Ambassador Auditorium as a house of worship, and put the mothballed classrooms and athletic facilities back into use. Maranatha High School and Harvest Rock Church bought the 13-acre property for an undisclosed amount. “Needless to say we think we instantly have some of

The offer was irresistible: Five adjacent historic homes on Pasadena’s oldest street were on the market Saturday for the first time in decades. Lured by this unusual opportunity, throngs of people descended on the homes. Some were standing outside the properties at 9 a.m., waiting for real estate agents to open the doors. Yet, many emerged with starkly different views of the properties, which had been shuttered for the last several years by their owner, the Worldwide Church of God. Some visitors saw an opportunity; others envisioned a money pit. Asked what it would take to prompt an offer, Steve

Worldwide Church of God seeks a new start in the face of fresh opposition. Christianity Today, June 17, 2003 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ Marshall Allen in Pasadena Ten years ago, leaders in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) began denouncing the fringe beliefs of their founder and transforming their church into an evangelical denomination. This revolutionary theological shift caused congregations and families to splinter. It also sparked a financial Armageddon in the highly visible movement of 150,000 people. Now church leaders propose a physical shift that they say will determine the church’s future. They want to turn their valuable 55-acre Ambassador College campus

Nineteen books by founder sold to Worldwide Church of God splinter group. Christianity Today, June 17, 2003 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ By Marshall Allen Reversing course, the financially struggling Worldwide Church of God has agreed to sell the rights to 19 books by church founder Herbert W. Armstrong to a splinter group. Announced March 12, the $3 million settlement ends a costly round of litigation. It also allows the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) to reproduce Armstrong’s teachings. Phil Arnn of Watchman Fellowship, a Christian research and apologetics ministry, said the deal raises an ethical question about the WCG. “These are heretical

Pasadena Star News, Jan. 26, 2003 http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ PASADENA — Mainstream religious people are usually more known for their insistence that they’ve found the truth rather than a willingness to admit their beliefs have been mistaken. But humility has been a hallmark of Worldwide Church of God leaders since they disowned the very non-mainstream beliefs of their founder, Herbert W. Armstrong. The drastic change in beliefs came to a head in 1995, and demonstrated that ideas do indeed have consequences. The changes resulted in a mass exodus among the Armstrong faithful, a huge drop in church revenue, a drastic decline in

LEWISVILLE, Texas (AP) – For a quarter-century, John and Shirley Damore did everything Herbert W. Armstrong told them to: They tithed up to 30 percent of their income, followed Old Testament dietary laws, and sent their children to schools run by the Worldwide Church of God. For this, the Damores and some 150,000 other church members expected that when Jesus returned to Earth – and that was any day now – they would be among the select few taken to “the place of safety,” then transformed into godlike beings ushering in the Kingdom of Christ. If that is where the